


I'm Bringing A Date

by RyspositoWritings



Category: Castle
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2014-11-28
Packaged: 2018-02-27 08:24:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2685911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyspositoWritings/pseuds/RyspositoWritings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castle and Beckett are hosting their very first Thanksgiving as husband and wife and have invited Ryan and Esposito. The boys have said they're each bringing a date, but they never mentioned who.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm Bringing A Date

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Thanksgiving (even though I'm a day late). This was written last night and a little bit this morning, so it's just a quick holiday fic. Jenny, as per usual with most of my fics, does not exist.

                                                              

 

“A date? He said he’s bringing a date?” Castle asked as he checked on the turkey again.

“That’s what he said.” Beckett shrugged. “Esposito said the same thing. They both wanted to know if it was okay to bring dates and I said yes, but I wasn’t…”

“You weren’t expecting them to get dates on such short notice.” Castle sighed. “Neither was I. I wanted them both here single and ready to date.”

“Because they obviously belong together. I know.” Beckett ran a hand through her hair. “I wish they would just figure it out because this is seriously killing me. It’s gotten to the point where I’m almost happy you’re there at the precinct all the time so I have someone to distract me from their…”

“Eye sex?” Castle supplied. “And I’m offended.”

“For lack of a better word, yes.” Beckett rolled her eyes at her husband. “But who would they bring? They don’t know anybody. I would say Espo could bring Lanie, but after two failed attempts at a relationship, I don’t think she’d say yes. Besides, she told me she was going to her parents’ for Thanksgiving.”

“And Ryan doesn’t do anything except hang out with Esposito, and he doesn’t go anywhere except the precinct, who would Ryan even be bringing?” Castle got a sudden thought and turned wide eyes toward Beckett. “You don’t think they hired hookers, do you?”

Beckett couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes again. “They wouldn’t bring hookers to Thanksgiving, Castle.” She paused. “And if they do, I’ll kill them.” She mumbled.

Castle looked at the turkey again and then took a drink of the wine he and Beckett were sharing. “Well, whatever happens tonight, we’re all going to need something to drink.”

Beckett nodded her agreement as she reached for the wine glass.

~.~.~

“This is going to be an… interesting night.” Ryan said. His phone was on speaker so he could use both hands to do his hair.

“They may not make it weird.” Esposito said over the phone.

“Yeah, but wouldn’t you feel weird if your two partners showed up and said they’d been secretly dating for three months?”

“That’s almost exactly what our partners did.” Esposito said.

“Yeah, but that was different. We knew they were going to hook up after the first week.”

“And you don’t think they’ve been expecting this? What if we’ve been just as obvious as they were?”

Ryan paused and thought about that. You always thought you were being subtle until someone points out you’re definitely not as careful as you thought. He heaved a sigh.

“It’ll be okay, babe.” Esposito said. “This is Castle and Beckett we’re talking about. They don’t discriminate. And if they do, I promise we can leave. Just give them a chance.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust them, it’s just…”

“It’s just that every other person you’ve ever told treats you like shit. I know, man. I get it. But they should probably know. They work with us. They’re bound to find out sooner or later, especially since we work with detectives.”

“Yeah…” Ryan sighed again.

“It’ll be okay, I promise.” Esposito reassured. “Meet you down there?”

“Yeah, I’m almost done and then I’ll be there.”

“Okay, then I’ll see you at Castle’s. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Ryan hung up the phone and then stared at himself in the mirror. It was true that Castle and Beckett were the most accepting people he knew, but on the other hand, that’s also what he thought about his parents. They were Catholic, so he knew they wouldn’t exactly agree with his “lifestyle choice”, but they’d stopped talking to him altogether ever since he told them about him and Javi, and it hurt. He usually would be with them on Thanksgiving, and he was glad to be spending it with friends, but it still stung.

After making sure he looked good, which he did in his dark jeans and black long-sleeved button up, he grabbed his wallet and keys, put on his coat, and was out the door on his way to what could be a great or horrible night.

~.~.~

“That’s the doorbell, you wanna get it, Castle?” Beckett called from the bedroom.

“I’m pulling out the turkey!” Castle called back from the kitchen.

“I got it!” Alexis said as she ran down the stairs dressed in a casual brown dress and shoes that matched.

She opened the door and smiled at Esposito standing on the other side looking like he’d just walked through a blizzard.

“Detective Esposito!” She said happily. “Come in!”

Esposito walked through the door and was in the middle of taking off his coat when both Castle and Beckett appeared a little too quickly.

Beckett looked at her partner confused. “I thought you were bringing a date.” She said.

“Uh, they’re meeting me here.” Esposito said, using a gender neutral term to throw them slightly off the scent. Any revealing was going to have to happen once Ryan got there. “You guys look great!” He said, changing the subject.

Castle was wearing a simple, but probably expensive, pair of jeans and a dark brown button up and Beckett wore black slacks and a dark purple blouse. Esposito himself had gone the jeans and henley route.

Martha came in from the back, making a dramatic entrance as usual, wearing a sparkly red dress and shawl that matched. “Where is this girl? I must meet her.” She said loudly.

“She’s meeting Detective Esposito here, Gram.” Alexis said. “Come on, we’ve still gotta help dad set the table.” The two of them headed into the dining room.

“Uh, anything I can do to help?” Esposito asked after a moment of silence.

Castle blinked. “Sure. We, uh, just need to get everything on the table.”

Esposito smiled slightly and followed them back to the kitchen.

The awkward air began to thin once they busied themselves with transferring food to the serving dishes and setting them on the table. Once Castle got the turkey in the middle of the table and the candles were lit, the doorbell rang once again.

“I got it.” Castle said, smiling. He opened the door to find a very nervous-looking Ryan. “Happy Thanksgiving!” He said, stepping aside to let Ryan in.

“Same to you.” Ryan said, a smile laced with fear on his face.

Castle looked out the door to try and see if he could spot Ryan’s date he’d claimed to be bringing. “You get stood up?” He asked, closing the door.

Ryan and Esposito exchanged a look.

“No.” Ryan said. “I was just going to… meet them here.”

Castle looked thoroughly confused. “Well, it’s almost six, your dates will be late if they don’t get here soon.” He walked back to the kitchen to finish setting the table with his family.

Ryan stepped over to Esposito. “So you didn’t tell them.” He said.

“I figured you’d want to be here.” Esposito said. “Well, that you should be here, anyway.”

“Yeah.” Ryan sighed. “I guess we should tell them before they continue to ask where our dates are.”

Almost as if on cue, Castle asked where their dates were again.

The two detectives stepped into the dining room.

“Where are they?” Beckett asked. “They’re late and we’re all hungry.”

“Uh,” Esposito cleared his throat and looked over at Ryan who looked a little pale. No, Ryan definitely wasn’t going to be able to tell them. He looked more like he might puke all over the turkey.

“Guys, what’s going on?” Beckett asked, feeling the tension from her partners.

Esposito wasn’t the best at words, so instead of answering her, he reached over and grabbed Ryan’s hand. “My date isn’t late.” He said. “Though, he was cutting it a little close.”

There was silence for a time as everyone processed Esposito’s words, and then a collective smile spread across all their faces.

“I knew it!” Castle said.

“Oh, you did not.” Beckett said, throwing a balled up napkin at him.

“I suspected.” Castle stuck his tongue out at his wife.

“You… you’re okay with it?” Ryan asked.

“Okay?” Beckett scoffed. “Ryan, we’ve been waiting for this for months.”

Castle was taking the two place settings meant for their dates off the table. “You two are sitting right here.” He gestured to two seats next to each other.

Esposito looked over at his partner and gave his hand a squeeze then gestured to the chairs. They stepped over and Esposito pulled Ryan’s chair out for him. After the two of them were seated, they looked up to find the Castle family all staring at them looking like they were watching two puppies.

“What?” Esposito asked.

“Nothing, uh… let’s dig in!” Castle said, taking his seat.

~.~.~

The food had been eaten and then put away and everyone was lounging around Castle’s fireplace, all the adults each with a glass of wine. Ryan and Esposito were sitting next to each other on the couch, Esposito’s arm draped around Ryan’s shoulders. Every once in a while, someone would glance at them and smile. Neither of them noticed, however, because they were on a completely different planet.

“So,” Beckett said, leaning forward. “How long has this been going on?”

Ryan and Esposito looked up and then exchanged a glance.

“Well, “ Esposito said, taking a sip of wine. “If you mean how long have we been going out, it’s been three months.”

Castle spit out some wine. “Three months?!” He exclaimed.

“Yeah…” Ryan gave a sheepish grin. “We didn’t know how everyone would react, so we sort of kept it to ourselves.”

“For three months?” Beckett asked. “I’m impressed.”

Esposito shrugged. “Yeah, well.” He said.

“What if we don’t mean how long you’ve been going out?” Alexis asked. “How long have you two been in love?”

Ryan’s eyebrows shot up. It wasn’t that he didn’t love Esposito, the two of them already declared their love about a month and a half into the relationship, he was just surprised at her bluntness.

“Well, for me,” Esposito said. “I think I’ve been in love since the day Ryan transferred to homicide.”

Ryan looked over at his boyfriend. “You never told me that.” He said, a smile on his face.

“Beckett and Montgomery walked over to me with you right behind them and said ‘Detective, meet your new partner, Kevin Ryan.’ and then this blue eyed angel walks out from behind them and I kind of forget everything after that. The only thing I knew was that you were way better looking than my last partner.”

Ryan laughed.

“What about you, Detective Ryan?” Alexis asked.

“Oh, definitely the same.” Ryan said. “Except I fell in love first. Beckett was showing me around and then she pointed Esposito out, who was on a call at the time, and said that he was my new partner and she’d introduce me once he was off the phone. I’m not sure if you guys have noticed, but Javi is pretty damn hot.”

“Shut up.” Esposito nudged Ryan slightly.

“So that was it?” Alexis asked. “That was when you fell in love?”

“I think that was the start.” Ryan said. “We were definitely attracted to each other for sure.”

“But when did you know for sure?” Alexis pressed.

Esposito paused and looked over at Ryan. “I think it was the day Ryan pushed me out of the way of that bullet, do you remember?”

Ryan nodded. “It was three weeks after we’d met. We were chasing down a perp and he stopped suddenly and when he turned around his gun was aimed at Esposito. I remember feeling terrified that this guy was going to kill my partner. And it wasn’t so much that he was going to kill my partner, as it was he was going to kill Javi.”

“I don’t really remember much except that Ryan was suddenly pushing me to the ground and the bullet barely missed his head.”

“And I landed on top of you.”

“And the rest is history.”

Castle leaned forward. “So, three months ago, who asked who out?” He asked.

Esposito instantly flushed red and Ryan smiled over at him.

“It’s not that embarrassing, Javi.” Ryan said, laughing slightly. He looked back at the group. “We were hanging out at my place, playing video games and eating pizza like we usually do and Javi looks over at me and starts talking about all the girls he’s dated.”

“Smooth.” Beckett said, smiling.

“So then he says that once he dated a guy in college.”

“And this guy,” Esposito continued the story, gesturing at Ryan. “Doesn’t bat an eyelash. He says ‘so was he hot?’ I’m sitting there trying to see if the guy I like is gonna think I’m weird for liking guys, and he asks if he was hot.”

“Well, was he?” Castle asked.

“Not the point, Castle.” Esposito said. “But yes he was, and so that’s what I tell him.”

“So, I’m not sure what the hell is going on.” Ryan continues. “Javi’s sitting there telling me all about his past relationships, and I’m thinking he’s a little drunk because this is the most Javi’s opened up to me since the last time he was drunk. And we end up sitting there in this really awkward silence.”

“It was a little painful, honestly.” Esposito said.

“So then, Javi tries again, but now he’s trying to see if I’d ever dated any guys before.”

“I needed to know if he was into guys before I made a move. Can you imagine if I’d asked him out and he wasn’t into guys? Can you imagine how awkward work would be?”

“So, what happened?” Castle asked, looking very into the story.

Ryan smiled. “He starts going off on this long sentence about how if I had dated guys, it wouldn’t affect our friendship and it’s totally cool if I want to come out.”

“He said that?” Beckett asked.

“He said, and I quote, ‘I’d be totally cool with it if you wanted to come out.’”

Esposito put a hand over his very red face.

“And then?” Alexis asked.

“I paused the game, because it was at that point that I sort of figured out what was happening, and I looked over at him and he was,” Ryan looked over at his very red partner. “About the same shade he is now. So I told him that, yeah, I’d done some stuff in college, but I never had a serious relationship with a guy. Then, after another awkward silence, he asks me if I would ever experiment again.”

“You asked that?” Beckett asked, looking disbelieving at Esposito.

“I was drunk and nervous, I said a lot of things.” Esposito defended.

“And so I asked him if he wanted to experiment with me and I think that was when he kissed me.”

“Aaawww!” Castle said.

“Shut up.” Esposito glared half-heartedly at Castle.

“Well, I gotta say I’m glad you guys finally did something about this, because the tension was killing me.” Beckett said.

“You guys really knew the whole time?” Ryan asked.

“Karpowski owes me twenty dollars.” Beckett said in answer.

“I guess we’re about as obvious as they were.” Esposito said, gesturing to Castle and Beckett.

“Well,” Castle yawned. “We’re out of wine and it is eleven o’clock. What do you say we call it quits for tonight?”

“Yeah, we should get going.” Esposito set his wine glass on the coffee table.

Everyone stood to say goodbye to the detectives and congratulate them on their somewhat new relationship. They put on their coats and each gave everyone a hug.

“Are you guys staying at the same place?” Castle asked as he opened the door to let them out.

“Well, tonight we are.” Ryan said, smiling impishly.

“Guys!” Beckett scolded.

“Hey, we’re allowed to have a sex life too!” Esposito said.

Castle chuckled. “Goodnight, guys. And Happy Thanksgiving.”

“Happy Thanksgiving.” Esposito said. “Night, everyone!”

Everyone murmured their goodbyes as Ryan and Esposito stepped out into the hall and to the elevator. As they rode down, Ryan leaned over and gave Esposito a soft kiss.

“What was that for?” Esposito asked.

“For being the best boyfriend ever and telling everyone so I didn’t have to.”

Esposito cupped Ryan’s jaw and pulled him into a deep kiss.

“What was that for?” Ryan asked, dazed.

“Because I love you.” Esposito said.

**  
**Ryan smiled up at him. “I love you too, Javier.” He whispered before they kissed one more time.


End file.
